davidyesss

Ahhh France.

My girlfriend and I wlll be driving through Normandy and Brittany as well in a few weeks.
Was wondering if anyone had any personal recommendations of towns they found charming, restaurants too.

and possible hotels that serve as a nice base!

Thank you so much! Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

David

mamcalice

We loved Bayeux, a charming town in Normandy which is a great base for visiting the WWII sights and the coastal villages. Bayeux, unlike many towns in Normandy was not bombed during the war so has its old buildings intact.

I recommend the Hotel D'Argouges in Bayeux. Whether you stay there or just pass through, don't miss the Bayeux tapestry. There are very nice restaurants in Bayeux. Restaurants we enjoyed in Bayeux were Le Petit Normande and Le Pommiere. Our trip was 5 years ago in May so others may have more up to date restaurant information.

mrgrumpy

beuzeville is a nice town just over the river from Le harve.Well placed to visit other places, deuville, trouville, Pont audumer has a nice market, i think on a tuesday. The Cochon d’ore in beuzeville is a nice hotel with a good restaurant

FrenchMystiqueTours

Could you mention what areas in both Normandy and Brittany interest you since these are each large regions and there are lots of places you could see in each region. In Normandy the most popular area is between Honfleur and the D-Day sites. Is this where you were thinking of in Normandy? The closest area in Brittany from this area would be the area around Mont-Saint-Michel, where you might visit Fougères, Saint-Malo, Dinard, Dinan and its nearby coastal areas. Is this the area in Brittany that interests you? If you said a bit more about where you want to go and what you want to see and just what interests you in general then I and others could give you better information that would be suited to your own specific tastes.

You should get yourself a guidebook for each region. I like the Michelin Green Guides. You'll find loads about what to see and do in these areas as well as find hotel recommendations. If you want restaurant tips then get the Michelin Red Guide.

I assume you're driving so get your hands on the Michelin maps (scale of 1:200,000) for whatever regions you visit. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists.

You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows all of the maps of France: http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev

However, since you have little time to wait for mail you can find these maps here in most book/magazine stores, some supermarkets and most hypermarkets as well as department stores such as FNAC. You'll also find them in the full service rest areas on autoroutes.

And speaking of Michelin, you can go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic routes). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and traffic.

Here is some other general advice for you. You should google some of the town/tourist office websites for any towns you may want to visit. You will find loads of info on these websites including hotel/accommodation and restaurant info as well as what to see and do in the area. Occasionally the websites have English versions. In doing a google search enter the name of your town followed by the words "site officiel" or "office de tourisme" and this will bring the town to the top of your search.

joannyc

Honfleur!

Some restaurants there, both were very good but not cheap:
Le Breard
La Tortue

Odin

Was in Rouen beginning of November and passed through Giverny and Vernon for a long weekend, very pretty with the autumn colours of the trees. Stayed at one of the Ibis Hotels in Rouen, was walking distance to restaurants and the magnificient cathedral.

tower

Especially if you plan to visit the D-Day beaches, Bayeux is an ideal place to headquarter. Fanning out fom there you can cut a wide swath through the heart of Normandy and see many of the highlights in the time you're alloting.

Honfleur is the most colorful..it's harbor is a highlight. Sitting to gaze at the harbor, have a bowl of mussels at "Hippocame"... A very interesting small village is Beuvron-en-Auge...east of Caen...comprehensive display of half-timbered houses covering most of the village.

We've enjoyed stayng at Chateaux de Sully, about 3 kms. north of Bayeux en route to the "beaches":..outstanding and an excellent dining choice also. Have a fun trip..easy driving.
stu

nancy1652

Seven years ago, we spent time in Brittany and
loved the Cote de Granit Rose, especially the coast between Trebeurden and Perros-Guirec with it's beautiful pink cliffs and rocks. Then we traveled to the south coast and stayed in Pont-Aven. If you enjoy art, Pont-Aven is full of galleries and a museum since it's where Paul Gauguin lived for 10 years. We stayed at the Le Moulin de Rosmadec and enjoyed it very much.
Further on, is Carnac, a fascinating prehistoric site with 3000 megaliths set in parallel rows dating back to 4000 BC.

tower

David..you may wish to consider Manoir de la Rance (On the Rance River in Eastern Brittany, close to Dinan, StMalo and Dinard). It's a lovely old manse in the countryside with great views of the broad Rance below.It's also one of the Hotels of Character and Charm in France listed in book of the same name. The owner is a very helpful woman, and breakfast in the solarioum is delightful.

stu

tower

David..here is the Manoir as I recommended above:

http://www.worldexecutive.com/locati...uit/41516.html

It is also recommended by Karen Brown.